


cobwebs & flies.

by franticatlantic



Category: Bandom, Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe, Halloween, Haunted Houses, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-13
Updated: 2016-05-24
Packaged: 2018-06-08 06:37:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6843253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/franticatlantic/pseuds/franticatlantic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Josh works at a haunted house and Tyler has a panic attack because he's forever trying to convince Zack he's not a weenie.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own. Constructive criticism is appreciated!
> 
> Rated H for Horror Movie References™, lol.

"Dude, I've heard this place is shit-your-pants scary."

"That does not sound pleasurable."

"Pleasant," Tyler chimes in, taking a break from chewing at his thumb.

"Huh?"

"A better word would have been pleasant."

"Whatever, genius." Zack rolls his eyes and turns his attention back to Mark. "The point is, I don't wanna shit my pants in the middle of a haunted asylum."

"You get _my_ point, though. It's worth the money."

The money wasn't the problem to Tyler. The problem, to Tyler, was that his heart was already punching violently against the slats of his ribs and his palms were sweating. Every mile they put between them and Columbus he could feel his blood pressure rising. Did Mark want him to have a stroke? Better yet, did Zack? Because as much as they fought, he was pretty sure his brother didn't wish death on him.

As if Zack could read his thoughts, he turned in his seat and fixed Tyler with a stare. "You okay, Ty?"

Tyler nods, teeth still worrying at the corner of his thumbnail. It's starting to bleed, just a little. "Yeah," he lies.

In the rearview, Mark glances at him and then back at the road, pulling them off the main street and onto a little side pathway, bordered on both sides by ominous-looking trees.

And Tyler…well, Tyler loves horror movies, okay? He's seen The Shining a shit ton of times, watched The Conjuring even more when Zack got it for him on Blu-ray. That type of thing doesn't scare him. So the point is, he's not a pussy.

Except he totally is because as the building comes into view through the windshield, dark stone facade glaring at Tyler like a monster, he finally rips half of his fingernail off and blood washes over his hand. "Fuck," he mutters, trying to stem the flow with the sleeve of his jacket. Still, there's a bit that trickles down his wrist and stains the rubber band there.

"Ty." Zack gives him a questioning look where he's been turned half-toward him for the past five minutes.

Tyler shakes his head and hides his hand. "'M fine."

Mark finds a parking spot in between a big red Hummer and a sleek black Mustang.

"So this place is actually haunted?" Zack asks, as Tyler unbuckles his seatbelt.

"Mhm," Mark muses. Tyler sees him fumbling with his phone, taking a picture of the front of the asylum for Instagram. "You can come for actual tours on different days, but around Halloween they do more campy stuff like this. Well, not exactly campy because like I said, I heard from Debby that some kid fainted here last week. But they don't always do the people-popping-out-at-you-thing, basically."

Zack nods, looking a little apprehensive himself, and digs out his phone as well. Tyler does the same, fishing his phone out of his pocket with the hand not currently smeared in blood.

He has a text from Jenna - sorry again i couldn't make it tonight, bud! try to have fun.

Then she put a little heart emoji because she's cute as shit.

Trying, he replies, not succeeding.

They vacate the car and head toward the front door, shoes crunching sharply on the gravel. Without thinking, Tyler raises his hand to his mouth and tastes blood.

-

The place is packed. The brochure Mark showed him had proclaimed the asylum a 'popular horror destination.' _Popular_ doesn't even begin to cut it - they wait in line for 45 minutes, which is way longer than the line for Space Mountain had been when their parents took him and Zack to Disney World last year.

There are rowdy kids in line, pushing and shoving at each other and even at people they don't know. He's pretty sure at one point there's about to be a fight three people back, but a security guy steps in and tells two guys, obviously drunk off their asses, that they have to leave.

"Man...whatever, my guy," one of the men slurs. "This place looks like it sucks donkey dick anyway."

The asylum, in Tyler's opinion, does not look like it sucks donkey dick. In fact, the closer they get to the front of the line the bigger the urge to run back to Mark's car becomes. He could wait for Zack and Mark there, no problem. If he had to wait an hour for them to get through the place, he would. Because there is no way in hell he's going insi-

And just like that, he, Zack, and Mark are through the threshold and the door shuts behind them.

Well, shit.

Outside at least there had been a light illuminating the pathway so you didn't fall and hurt yourself or the hundreds of other people waiting in line. In here, which Tyler can dimly make out is a lobby area, the only lights are down near the floor, so you can see where you're walking. Tyler can see his Vans shuffling awkwardly next to Zack's feet.

A girl in doctors' scrubs is 'intaking' patients, an interesting concept, Tyler has to admit. But the reason it's taking so long for people to get through the line outside is because they're only admitting five 'patients' at a time. So Tyler, Zack, and Mark are stuck with the couple who were ahead of them in line. The guy has an arm slung protectively over his girlfriend's shoulders and it stays there as they begin their trek into the asylum.

The only thing keeping Tyler sane right now is the fact that he can feel Zack beside him, can hear his brother muttering about how creepy the place is.

The first scare isn't much - a guy obviously playing a mental patient screams and jumps out at them from a dark alcove. Mark lets out a high-pitched scream and the group hurries on, Tyler actually laughing so hard he has to clutch his stomach.

"I think Mark's gonna be the one shitting his pants!" Zack shouts, a little too fervently. In the dim lights bordering the floor, Tyler can see him clenching his hands into fists by his sides. That gesture usually means Zack Joseph is scared out of his mind.

It doesn't take long for the joviality to wear off, as they turn a corner and a light comes on in a room off the hallway. There's a large window they can see through and a guy dressed as a doctor is pressed right up against the glass, apron and surgical gloves smeared with blood. He beckons them closer to the window and then steps back, starts to walk around a table.

On the table is a girl. Tyler has to remind himself for a second that this is all fake.

Because the girl's head is lolling from side to side and he can dimly hear the sound of her screaming through the glass. Her stomach has been sliced open, organs and blood strewn everywhere. Tyler's stomach lurches and his thumb throbs.

Zack makes a disgusted noise as the doctor picks up a scalpel and slices through what appears to be the girl's kidney. Another bout of screaming, this time louder than the last.

Tyler's head swims because that shit looks real. Like, _really_ real.

He turns to tell Zack this, but finds that he's not there. Neither is Mark. Or the couple they were with. A shock goes through him, much like he's been electrocuted. "Zack?" He asks meekly, glancing back into the room.

The doctor's motioning toward him again, coming for the door this time. And Tyler will be damned if he sticks around and waits for a crazy surgeon to try and rip him open like that poor girl on the table. _It's fake_ , he has to say to himself. But it looks _real_.

Trying to move double time, he takes off down the hall and only slows when he turns another corner. This hallway is even darker than the last and he really wants to stop walking, just sit here and wait for another group to come by. But it doesn't sound like anyone's close behind him and the longer he waits the further ahead Mark and Zack and the cute couple will get from him.

So he forces himself to move, shuffling down the hallway.

The sound of a chainsaw has his palms sweating again, legs working furiously to bring him to a set of stairs, which is not safe, he thinks. To put a flight of steps right after some lunatic starts chasing you with a chainsaw? He's surprised no one has broken their neck in a fall or something during all the time this place has been open.

He himself stumbles on the last step, slides into the next hallway and is greeted by an eery figure walking in jerky movements against the wall a few yards away. And that? That shit freaks him out. Tyler watched The Ring when he was like, eleven and the way that little girl moved when she came out of the television still gave him nightmares.

And all of a sudden he realizes he's not about to have a stroke - he's about to have a full-fledged panic attack.

He has to get out of here.

He thinks about confronting the weird-moving lady, telling her he has to leave or something really bad is going to happen. Like he might die of a heart attack in their establishment and then no one will ever want to come here and spend their hard-earned money again.

Or, knowing the sickos who actually enjoy this kind of thing, that might just bring in more of a crowd.

So he sprints past the lady, who cackles obscenely in his direction, and heads around another corner. He half expects to finally find Mark and Zack here, but instead he's confronted with someone else.

Another member of the attraction, this time wearing a long black cloak and some sort of creepy alien mask, jumps out and screams.

Tyler takes this as his opportunity. "Hey!" He shouts back, actually claps his hands on the person's shoulders.

Not such a bright move, in hindsight. He remembers hearing a news story a few years back about people who worked at haunted houses, how customers frequently hit them out of fear and stuff like that. _That's kind of what you get for scaring people half to death for a living_ , Tyler thinks idly.

As it is, the person shoves Tyler's hands away from him. "What the fuck, dude?" The voice is most definitely male, muffled by the alien mask he's wearing. Which, the more Tyler looks at it, is also starting to scare him. Signs was some creepy shit, if you ask him.

Tyler swallows. "I need to get out of here because I'm about to have a fucking panic attack, okay?"

The guy pauses, and Tyler can't tell what he's thinking because of that stupid fucking mask. And Tyler's shaking, bad, hands balled into fists at his sides. Except where that means Zack is scared shitless, it means Tyler's about to have an episode. His palms are so sweaty, but he can't seem to unclench his hands to wipe them anywhere.

After about twenty seconds, the guy flips his hood back and then rips his mask off. Dark hair flops onto his forehead, almond-shaped eyes squinting in the dark. He has a nose ring. Tyler's fists unclench just a bit, now that he's no longer staring at a pair of freaky alien eyes. His chest is still heaving, though, body quivering where he stands.

"Shit, you're being serious."

"Of course I'm being serious, why would I lie about-"

Screams from down the hall, where Tyler just came from, interrupt him. Another group heading through. Alien guy curses, grabs Tyler by the bicep. "Come here."

He's ushered into a dark corner, pressed chest to chest with alien boy. He's shaking so hard he's afraid the people will see him. Or hear his teeth chattering together. Not that he should care - he didn't even wanna come to this stupid asylum in the first place. Let someone else's experience be ruined, who gives a shit?

But alien boy crowds him even farther into the corner, presses harder against him. Tyler's brain short circuits, forgets about the shaking for a full minute while the group sneaks past.

"Dude, hurry up," he hears someone whisper.

"I don't think there's anything in this part," someone else says.

"Well, I don't wanna stick around to find out."

And then they're gone and alien boy is stepping back and Tyler's back to shaking. "Can you get me out of here now, please?" He's disgusted by how scared he sounds.

But the guy hardly bats an eye, just nods and tries to grab Tyler's hand. Finding that that's impossible without a crowbar to pry his fingers apart, he settles for Tyler's wrist, leading him along the hallway and to another flight of stairs. But these don't seem to be part of the attraction, leading off of the hallway instead of at the end of one.

There's a chain barring the lower half of the stairs, which the guy unlatches and then ushers Tyler through, hooking the chain back behind them. A door on the landing lets them out onto some sort of fire escape and Tyler feels like he can breathe again.

He hurries to the railing, unclenching his fists so he can curl them around the cool metal, sucking in heaping lungfuls of air. They appear to be somewhere on the side of the building, a line of trees obstructing Tyler's vision of anything interesting. But that's okay - trees are good and they don't look as ominous as they did on the ride in.

Not when he can feel alien boy behind him, an actual, living, breathing, normal (although that's to be debated) human being. Not an alien and certainly not a crazy surgeon.

"Are you okay?" The guy asks.

Tyler's body is still shaking, knuckles turning white on the railing as he shakes his head no. "I'm gonna throw up."

And with that, he hangs his head over the fire escape and hurls. Through the blood rushing in his ears, he doesn't hear it hit the grass below with a sickening squelch and he's not sure alien boy does either.

All he knows is that when he's sure he's done vomiting, alien boy is rubbing circles on the small of his back. Tyler grunts and wipes his mouth on the sleeve of his jacket, which will definitely have to go in the wash after this night is through.

He's mostly stopped shaking now, small quivers wracking his frame every couple of seconds, though it's still a bit hard to breathe.

"You actually…" Breath. "Like…" Breath. "Working here?"

"It pays the bills," is all the guy says.

Tyler can understand that - his job at the restaurant is just that. But at least he doesn't give people anxiety attacks for a living.

Behind him, the guy chuckles. "I can feel you hating me from here."

Tyler whips around, dark brows furrowed. "I don't-" He trembles once, hard, from head to toe. "-hate you. I don't even know you."

Alien boy is quick to withdraw his hand from Tyler's back and offer it for a shake. "I'm Josh."

"Tyler." Tyler shakes Josh's hand, strong and warm, without thinking about it.

"Shit, is that-" Josh has a strong grip on Tyler's hand, pulling it toward him and squinting at it. "-is that blood? Is that from here? Fuck, they're not supposed to touch you-"

"No!" Tyler retrieves his hand, tucking it inside his sleeve once more and curling away from Josh. "It's not- I didn't- …I did that."

"Oh." Josh's dark eyes study him for what seems like ages. Then, "You should let me do something about it. We have a first aid kit in the office-"

Tyler's heart leaps into his throat and he shakes again. "I can't go back in there."

Josh's smile is kind, hand reaching out to curl his fingers over Tyler's shoulder. This guy is really kind of touchy-feely. It makes Tyler really kind of blushy.

He's so glad it's dark out.

"It's okay," Josh tells him softly. "No more scary shit. The back stairwells lead right down to the office. I promise."

"...okay, I would, but I have to find my brother and my friend."

"Oh, shit." Josh's hand leaves him once more, going to his hair to scratch idly at his head. "Yeah, guess we should find your group, huh? How long ago did you come in?"

"10 years ago," Tyler says dryly, because that's how long it feels like he was stuck inside this godforsaken place. Josh laughs so loud Tyler's ears ring. Tyler smiles shyly as he ducks his head, thinking. "Uh…maybe 15 minutes ago?"

Josh nods, dark hair flopping. "They have a ways to go, then. I can take you to the exit and you can wait there."

Tyler really, really doesn't want to go back inside, but Josh is holding the door open for him. He takes a tentative step forward, stills at the sound of a muffled scream. Josh holds his hand out and Tyler takes it, fingers wrapping around Josh's hand like a vice. Josh doesn't complain, though, just leads him inside and shuts the door.

There are more screams and a few ripples of laughter as they descend the steps. Tyler stays as close as he can to Josh without climbing on top of him. He's pretty sure Josh's hand must be numb by now, but he doesn't let go until they reach the office.

"Wait here a minute," Josh tells him, extricating himself from Tyler's grip.

Tyler grapples onto the sleeve of Josh's cloak instead. "I thought you said-"

"I know, I'll be two seconds, I promise."

He's more like ten seconds, the liar, as Tyler waits outside the office, staring into the dark and listening to the sound of more screaming. The shaking starts again right before Josh reemerges from the office and grabs Tyler's hand once more.

Tyler doesn't ask what Josh went in there for and Josh doesn't offer, just leads him to the exit on the back side of the building.

The grand finale is apparently another guy wielding a chainsaw, swiping at peoples' legs as they leave.

Josh, thankfully, had enough peace of mind to let Tyler out through a smaller door a few yards away from the main exit, so they have a good vantage point of everyone who's leaving.

Feeling nauseous, Tyler unconsciously lets his head fall forward, onto Josh's shoulder. "Why do places like this exist?" He moans.

He can feel Josh's shoulders shaking as he laughs. "Because it's fun."

Tyler turns his head, glares up at Josh. "By whose definition?"

Josh shrugs, jostling Tyler's head precariously. "I'unno. Some guy fainted here last week."

"I heard. That doesn't sound like a good time to me."

Josh smells like cinnamon and burning wood.

"To each their own. Why'd you come here if you hate haunted houses so much? We're like, the highest rated haunted attraction in Ohio."

Tyler sniffs, finally picks his head up from Josh's shoulder. "My brother and my friend wanted me to. They're really into stuff like this."

"And you're not?" Josh looks pointedly at the front of Tyler's shirt, peeking out from between the sides of his jacket. He is wearing a pretty creepy shirt, one of his many skeleton prints.

"I'm just not-"

"Tyler! Jesus, bro, where have you been?"

That's Zack, just leaving the building. Mark's beside him and they both look like they've been through hell.

"Dude, money well spent, yes or no?" Mark asks, voice shaking.

Tyler shrugs. "I got lost."

It's now that he realizes he's still holding onto Josh's hand. He lets go, wiping sweaty palms on the sides of his jeans.

"Sorry, Ty." Zack puts an arm around his shoulders. "You missed the best parts."

"I'm sure that's not true," Tyler mutters sullenly, looking at Josh.

Josh is just smiling, nose ring glinting in the moonlight.

"Who is-" Mark begins.

"Josh. He helped me out."

"You work here?" Zack asks.

Josh brandishes the alien mask at him.

Zack practically hollers. "Dude, you were the alien! You were fuckin' awesome, man!"

"Thanks. Tyler didn't think so."

"Shut up." Tyler blushes, back to wanting Zack to think he's cool even though Zack is the younger sibling and Tyler should, by all accounts, be the cool one. He's totally not.

"Well, we should get going. My mom's gonna start wondering where I am if we're not home by 11," Mark says sheepishly.

"Nerd," Zack laughs.

The two start heading to the parking lot, but Tyler hangs back.

"Thanks, Josh. Seriously. For everything."

Josh sniffs and shrugs. "No problem."

"But I mean, you could lose your job for helping me out." Tyler realizes this only as he says it and all of a sudden he's almost shaking again, for some reason. He could potentially have just ruined someone's way of income.

"Tyler, chill out." Josh's hand is back on his shoulder, kneading over his jacket. "They won't even notice I was gone. And anyway this is a seasonal job. If I do ever get fired, it's no big deal. I'll just go back to Guitar Center when November rolls around."

Tyler nods, set somewhat at ease. "If you say so."

"I do. Now get outta here or your brother's gonna leave you behind again."

But instead of leaving, Tyler rushes forward and wraps his arms around Josh's middle. "Seriously, thank you. For helping me. And not thinking I'm weird or…something."

"Who says I don't think you're weird?" But Josh doesn't laugh this time, just rests reassuring hands on Tyler's back. "You're welcome, dude. It was nice to meet you."

Something brushes the pocket of Tyler's jacket as he turns to go.

In the car, Mark turns the radio on as loud as it will go. Tyler suspects this is because him and Zack are scared shitless and would rather sing along as loud as they can to Ke$ha than sit alone in silence with the memory of that fucking asylum.

As Tyler sticks his hand into his pocket for his phone, he thinks he got the better end of the deal - he didn't have to actually go through the entirety of the place, Zack and Mark wrote his pussying out off as him getting lost, and he met a pretty cute guy. Much better than being chased by someone with a chainsaw, if you ask him.

Something falls out of his pocket along with his phone and he roots around on the backseat for whatever it is. Something slim, flexible. He holds it up to the light of his phone. A bandaid.

Tyler's stomach does a little flip, remembering Josh's kind words and the way he'd rubbed his back on the fire escape.

He flips the bandaid over, ready to put it on his maimed finger.

On the backside of it, Josh has written his phone number.


	2. unwind.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh and Tyler go on a not-date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the sequel / ending to cobwebs & flies. Enjoy!

Tyler doesn't call right away.

Mostly because he's scared.

"Scared of what?" Madison had asked, after she saw the bandaid on Tyler's desk.

Tyler didn't answer, just told Madison to stop being nosy and get the freaking iPhone charger she barged in for.

He's scared because…well, what does he say? That depends entirely on why Josh gave out his number in the first place. Obviously Tyler's first thought is because Josh is _interested_. In _that way_. But he's not sure that extending your phone number to someone automatically counts as asking them out. What if Josh gave Tyler his number because he just wants to be friends?

If Tyler had something else in mind during this phone call, that was going to make for a very awkward conversation.

-

Halloween comes and goes. Tyler dresses up as Donnie Darko like he's wanted to for the past 3 years and he, Jenna, Mark, and Zack go trick or treating even though everyone else they know thinks they're too old. But Michael still steals six Snickers bars when he comes over to visit the next day so who's the child here, really?

-

When he finally decides to call, he does so on a Friday night. He figures Josh will be out doing something and won't answer and then he can tell Jenna, Madison, Zack, Mark, and anyone else who dared open their mouths to him about Josh that they were wrong, that Josh wasn't interested, and so they can all eat shit.

"Hello?"

Well, that just threw a giant wrench in his plans.

"H-Hello?" Tyler sits up in bed, getting that swimmy-sick feeling in his stomach.

"Hi," Josh chuckles, sounding totally at ease. Bastard. "Is this…Tyler, by any chance?"

Tyler lets out a little squeak, but doesn't have the wherewithal to hold the phone away from his mouth as he does. He hears Josh laugh on the other end.

"I've been waiting for you to call, dude."

"Y-You have?" In the mirror, Tyler sees his face is beet red. He's wringing the comforter in one hand, the other sweaty where it holds the phone to his ear.

"Of course." Josh says it like it's a given, like Tyler should have called a long time ago.

"Why?"

"Because I gave you my number and generally when people do that they expect the other person to call."

Oh.

"Honestly I was starting to think you'd lost the bandaid or it fell out of your pocket in the parking lot or something."

Tyler bites his lip, glances at the little bandaid on his desk. "I actually still have it. I never used it."

Josh goes quiet for a few long seconds. "…why not?"

"Because then I would have lost your number when I threw it away."

"You could have always…saved it in your phone. Or written it somewhere else." It sounds like Josh is smiling.

And Tyler's such an idiot because he _could_ have done either of those things, but instead he just let his finger continue bleeding on the way home. But Josh doesn't sound like he's making fun of Tyler, in fact he sounds oddly touched that Tyler kept the bandaid, that he still has it now.

Tyler stops biting his lip in favor of examining his thumb, the one where half the fingernail is still growing back. Tyler's hair and nails grow _slow_.

"How'd you know it was me calling?"

Josh makes a noise. "I recognized your voice."

"Really?" The proverbial fish in Tyler's stomach does a little flip.

"Mmmhm," is all Josh says.

Tyler knows he's waiting for Tyler to say something else, to initiate something else. But just like back at the asylum, Tyler is a total weenie. He'll probably always be a weenie.

"Soooooo," Tyler drawls, hears Madison and a few of her friends come in downstairs. "…what're you up to?"

"Not much." He can hear the shrug in Josh's voice. "I might be going out in a bit if my plans don't fall through. How about you?"

"Oh, sorry. I'll let you get to that, then." He almost apologizes for calling. Almost.

Josh laughs. "Tyler, relax. I wanted you to call. I said that, right?"

"Yeah."

Still, Tyler's such a lame-o he can't possibly understand why.

"So, listen. You should come back to the asylum." It's almost like he can feel Tyler's panic through the phone because he says, quickly, "Not for another haunted house night. We have a few more tours lined up for the first half of November and I can get you a discount."

"Are the tours…scary?" What Tyler's really asking is if this tour is going to give him another panic attack.

Josh hums. "That's debatable, but they're not purposely scary, if that makes sense? They're meant to be more educational and informative, but of course the place is actually haunted so the guides always warn you about ghosts and poltergeists and stuff."

"Wait…you actually believe the ghost thing?"

"Yes. Dude, the place is totally haunted. I've seen shit there before."

"Ew, really?"

"Yes, really."

"That does sound like something Mark and Zack would be into-"

"Actually," Josh interrupts him, "I was thinking you could come alone. Not that I didn't like your brother or your friend, but…yeah, you should come alone."

Tyler's throat feels tight. He wants to ask if this is like…a _date_. But he can't quite bring himself to force the words out. Like he said: weenie.

"Oh. I…I can come alone, sure. When should I be there?"

Josh gives him a date and time that he'll be able to get him the best deal on a tour and then they hang up. Tyler sits forlornly, looking at his phone and wondering if this would be considered a date or not. Probably not considering Josh is going to be his tour guide.

"Was that Josh!" Madison shouts, flinging his door wide open.

Tyler damn near falls off the bed, Madison's friends giggling behind her.

"Leave me alone, she-devil," Tyler hisses at his sister.

Madison closes the door and Tyler hears her muttering down the hall to her friends about how her brother is soon enough going to have his very first boyfriend and how they're going to be so creepy-cute together because they met at a haunted house and it was so romantic.

Tyler groans, because he has to face Madison's friends at social events after this.

But he picks the bandaid up and runs it through his fingers, a blush creeping over the bridge of his nose as he thinks about seeing Josh again. Creepy-cute, indeed.

-

The asylum is a lot less intimidating in the daylight.

And the parking lot is a lot less crowded, which sets him at ease as he pulls in beside a dusty minivan.

The sunlight doesn't make him any less nervous, however. Because while he won't be getting the piss scared out of him this time around, he will be seeing Josh. Which is enough to make him woozy and more than a little lightheaded.

His memory of Josh is riddled with anxiety, horror, and a feeling of nausea because of that stupid haunted house. But beneath all of that is Tyler's memory of _holyfuckingshitcutealienboy_. He's not sure which is worse.

The sight of the asylum lobby has his palms slightly damp again, but the girl at the front desk smiles brightly and greets him and Tyler relaxes.

"Hi, I should have a ticket waiting. It's under Josh Dun."

"Oh! You must be Tyler."

Tyler recognizes the girl from the haunted house, the one who'd been "intaking" patients. From the look on her face, Tyler can't tell if she recognizes him as well or if that's…something else.

"Yeah. Tyler," he says by way of introduction.

The girl's smile doesn't falter as she hands him his tickets and Tyler pays the difference. "If you head down the hallway to your left, you can take a seat in the room at the end and your tour should start in a couple minutes."

Tyler thanks her and heads down the hall, emerging into some sort of rec room with an old wooden rocking horse in the corner. Tyler narrows his eyes at it - that had to have been put there purposely, right? For a cheap campy horror effect.

There are a few other people waiting in the room. They all look up when Tyler enters and then go back to their quiet conversations or to glancing around the room.

Tyler takes a seat two chairs down from a group of friends muttering in hushed voices.

When he looks at the rocking horse, he swears he sees it moving.

A minute or two has passed when he starts tapping his foot, the quiet making his ears ring and the pressure in his head build.

A family enters, then a couple, then another group of friends. Almost all of the chairs are occupied and Tyler's starting to rock slightly in his seat, wanting Josh to start the tour already.

But when the door at the opposite end of the room opens and their guide steps in, it's not Josh. "Hi! Is everyone ready to get started?"

Everyone gets to their feet and murmurs their assent. Tyler stands as well, but he's feeling rather barfy. Because the tour guide with the blond hair and deep set eyes is most definitely not Josh and he's going over safety precautions like he's about to start the tour even though Josh isn't there.

The family that came in after Tyler shuffles up behind him and Tyler tries to squeeze between the daughter and the mom to check his phone and send Josh a text asking why he asked Tyler out in the first place if he was just going to stand him up. That, or just leave and never come back to this stupid asylum ever again, delete Josh's number from his phone and cry about it for the next month and a half.

Yeah, probably the latter.

But someone is prying their way past the family before Tyler can get through. A hand brushes his arm. "Hey, sorry I'm a little late. Traffic was a bitch."

The dark hair and narrow eyes put him at ease, the silver nose ring and laughing lips make him breathe a sigh of relief. Because it's Josh. He's here and he didn't stand Tyler up and holy shit he has a whole sleeve of tattoos running down his arm.

Tyler can't stop staring because the last time he saw Josh Josh had been wearing that long black cloak and Tyler could only see his face. The tattoo is mostly green, blue in some places with a smudge of brown in others. Tyler can't make out what it is.

"Tyler?"

Tyler glances back up to Josh's amused expression. Josh is seriously hot.

This better be a date or Tyler's going to be so disappointed.

"Hi," is all he can supply, in a hushed voice as the tour guide goes on about flash photography.

Josh grins.

"It's okay," Tyler whispers. "That you're late."

I seriously thought you weren't coming, he wants to say.

Josh must have weird mind-reading powers because he says, "Had to get you back for taking so long to call me after I gave you my number."

Tyler gives him a look. Because that's really not funny.

Josh bites at his lower lip and Tyler thinks he looks fucking _lewd_.

Then Tyler's being nudged forward with a hand at the small of his back. "Get a move on, cowboy," Josh mutters to him.

Tyler realizes the group is filing out of the room as the tour starts. He didn't listen to a word their guide said about safety and what is or isn't allowed. But he figures Josh will tell him if he does something heinous.

-

The hallways are precarious, floor tiles missing and chunks of wall broken off laying in heaps of rubble on the floor. According to their guide, this part of the asylum is never used for the haunted Halloween attraction because it would be too dangerous to traverse in the dark.

Tyler experiences this for himself when he stumbles on a discarded brick. Josh's hand at his elbow is the only thing that keeps him from eating shit.

"I'm so surprised you hadn't wiped out completely by the time we met," Josh sniggers.

Tyler glares at him. "I had, if you remember. Mentally."

Josh quiets, pressing his arm against Tyler's as they turn into the first official stop on the tour.

It's an old room with a broken down bed frame against the wall and a desk in the corner. Everything's covered in a fine layer of dust and the only source of light is from the small cracked window on the wall.

The room apparently belonged to a guy who stayed here in the 30s. He suffered from severe schizophrenia and died due to the asylum's old practice of electroshock therapy.

"I thought that'd be you," Tyler tells Josh, gesturing at their guide as he explains all about the room's old inhabitant and his proclivity for smoking.

"Clint?" Josh's nose wrinkles. That must be the guide's name, which Tyler hadn't caught back in the rec room because he'd been too busy getting a boner over Josh's tattoos. Which he's still glancing at momentarily.

"Yeah, I thought you'd be, y'know-"

"Oh, you thought I was gonna be your tour guide?" Josh looks upset by that for some reason.

Tyler nods.

Josh shakes his head, an odd look on his face. "No. I don't…I definitely wanted- oh, watch this."

Tyler is rather intrigued by what Josh wanted, exactly, but he's also intrigued when he turns back to their guide, who's asking the group if anyone present has a cigarette.

A guy in front pulls a pack of Marlboros from his pocket and taps one out.

Clint takes it and sets it on the edge of the desk, disturbing the dust. "We'll leave this here and come back for it later," he says ominously.

Tyler's confused, but he and Josh amble back out into the hallway with the rest of the group.

He doesn't get a chance to return to their previous conversation before they're ushered into a room even creepier than the one before.

This room has a tiny bed frame against the wall, a tiny desk, and an even tinier rocking chair. Obviously a child's old room.

"This room belonged to Sally Miller, a young girl with a multiple personality disorder. Sally frequently named her other personalities - Annabelle, Melanie, Selena. Sally apparently had a bit of a sweet tooth and would frequently ask the wards and nurses for candy." Clint pulls a Tootsie Roll from his pocket and this time places it delicately on the arm of the small rocking chair. The chair sways back and forth for a second and then goes still.

Tyler's unsure why they keep leaving things behind. They're ushered back into the hallway.

The family that's been behind Josh and Tyler this whole time have evidently gotten fed up with their muttering back and forth and talking over the tour guide so they hurry forward and quickly overtake them, so that the two of them are bringing up the rear of the group. Tyler doesn't mind - the lower the sun gets as the afternoon wears on the creepier the asylum will seem to him and he's going to need Josh close to keep him sane. He doesn't need anyone standing behind him and watching (judging) as he clings to Josh's arm.

For now, though, he does a good job of keeping his limbs to himself as they're led through an old dining hall and then into the infirmary.

The beds here are all stripped bare and Tyler half-expects to see blood splattering the old sheets and mattresses. At the other end of the room, there's a gurney.

The sight of it makes him press himself to Josh's side, heart beating faster.

"You okay?" Josh asks quietly. His nose brushes the curve of Tyler's ear as he turns his head.

Tyler nods, not trusting himself to speak. He thinks about the solidness of Josh next to him, how he'd asked the same thing back on the fire escape. He wants Josh's hand on the small of his back again, rubbing slow soothing circles. He can't ask for that, though.

Clint explains that this is where a lot of experiments were done on patients deemed too mentally unfit to ever recover. At the first mention of the word lobotomy, Tyler closes his eyes and pictures someone digging a needle into a little girl's eye. The little girl has pigtails and she's clutching a teddy bear.

Tyler whimpers, softly. But in the tranquility of the room, the father of the family in front of them is still able to hear and he turns around to glare.

Tyler presses his face into the back of Josh's shoulder, feeling claustrophobic.

Josh makes a noise himself. "Ty?"

And Tyler feels so silly, knows Josh is going to think he's crazy when these words come spilling out, but here they come so help him God. "Need to get out of here," he mutters, words forced into the soft material of Josh's jacket.

"You wanna leave?"

"Jus' this room."

In no time at all, Josh has alerted Clint that he'll be taking Tyler back to the lobby, that they can continue on without them. And then Josh and Tyler are back in the dining hall, which is way less creepy than that fucking hospital wing.

Tyler's still breathing harshly, though, hands on his hips as he paces back and forth at the head of the nearest table. Josh just watches, waiting. Then he pulls a dusty chair out and sits.

"Should you be touching the scenery?" Tyler asks breathlessly.

Josh just shrugs. "I work here. Do you like the tour so far?"

"Yeah," Tyler sighs. "Don't believe the place is actually haunted, though."

"Why not?"

"Well, because I haven't seen any ghosts yet."

"Exactly. Yet. I mean, I can't _guarantee_ you'll see one, but you never know."

"You've seen one, though?"

"One? Dude, this place has hundreds of ghosts. Of people who died here - patients, wards, nurses, doctors."

This is helping - talking normally about the tour, about the logistics of the asylum and whether or not Josh has actually seen a ghost here. Tyler believes he thinks he's seen ghosts, not that he's _actually_ seen them. Tyler doesn't believe in ghosts. The same way he doesn't believe in aliens.

Tyler stops pacing, pulse slowing to the point that he feels he can talk to Josh like an actual human being now. He scrubs a hand through his hair. "Sorry I'm freaking out again. You must think I'm such a head case."

"Not really. I mean…we're all head cases in our own way, right? You have panic attacks and I believe in ghosts. We're both pretty crazy. But everyone is." Josh jumps up and starts heading back the way they came, to the patient quarters. "Let's go."

"Shouldn't we catch up with the group?"

Now that Tyler feels better he's confident he could finish out the rest of the tour with no problems. Definitely. Maybe.

"Nah," Josh tosses over his shoulder. "I wanna show you something."

Tyler hurries to catch up to Josh and trips on another brick. They are quickly becoming the bane of his existence. But he's more preoccupied with watching the way Josh's shoulders move under his clothes than where he's placing his feet.

Josh stops at the little girl's room and glances in. He prompts Tyler inside with a jerk of his head.

Tyler scuffles in slowly, glancing around. Nothing is out of the ordinary that he can see. "What am I-" Then he sees it. On the arm of the chair the Tootsie Roll wrapper is unraveled, the candy inside gone. "What the fuck?"

Josh laughs at his reaction, loud in the deserted hallway. Tyler scowls at him because this is some creepy shit.

"This is not funny," Tyler gasps, making to back out of the room. Josh is still there, though, barring his way. His chest is solid against Tyler's back.

"Sally does love her candy," Josh mutters.

"This has happened before?"

He feels Josh shrug. "She doesn't always take the candy the guides offer, but sometimes she gets hungry."

Tyler's eyes won't leave the candy wrapper. The rocking chair is swaying ever so slightly back and forth. He needs to regain some normalcy or he's going to lose it again. "Why'd you want me to come alone?" He asks, finally turning away from the Tootsie Roll wrapper.

Josh pouts his lower lip out, thinking for a second. He _hmm_ s delightfully. "Same reason I got kind of upset when you assumed I was gonna be your tour guide today. I wanted this to be a date."

Tyler's chest feels tight and he imagines he can hear the creaking of the rocking chair behind him. "Don't lie."

"I'm not! I wanted to see you again. I thought you knew this was a date."

"I wanted it to be," Tyler admits, glancing down at their shoes, at the dirty floor with its missing tiles. "Just…all my friends kept telling me to call, but I thought I'd freaked you out so much when we first met that you just wanted to be friends or something."

"Aw, you told your friends about me?" Josh asks, sickly sweet.

Tyler shoves him out of the doorway. "Don't be a jerk."

They continue down the hallway, Josh wanting to show Tyler one more thing.

They stop at the smoker's room and Josh gestures for Tyler to enter.

"Don't block me in this time, asshole," Tyler threatens, and Josh just splays his arms wide and enters behind him this time.

Tyler sees what Josh wants him to see automatically - on the corner of the desk the cigarette is still there, but now it's lit, smoke wafting up to the ceiling.

Tyler almost collapses right there. "Dude, I'm fucking scared."

"See, this is the haunted house experience I thought you'd like. None of that jumpscare shit giving you anxiety. Just good old-fashioned ghosts."

And that's cool and all, that Josh thought he'd like this, that he'd consider Tyler at all like that. It's actually really fucking sweet of him. But then a loud bang from the hallway cuts Josh off and Tyler's clinging to Josh's side like a spider monkey.

"What was that?"

"I dunno," Josh mutters, trying to drag himself, and Tyler suctioned to his side, back to the doorway to look out.

But Tyler is having none of it, pulling Josh back until they're huddled together by the desk, cigarette burning behind them. "Are you insane?" Tyler hisses. "Do you _want_ to die?"

"Not particularly," Josh says, and all of a sudden he sounds pretty scared, too.

They wait like that for a minute or two, crowded together with Tyler's arms around Josh's waist. The side of his face is pressed to Josh's chest, where he can hear Josh's heart beating. He can still see the cigarette in his peripheral vision.

Eventually Tyler raises his head, gazing up at Josh. Josh's lips are parted, and Tyler's trying not to glance behind him into the hallway because he's afraid he'll see a ghost.

"Can I kiss you?" Josh asks, and Tyler's brain just about explodes.

"I really want you to kiss me."

So Josh kisses him, hands cradling Tyler's jaw as Tyler feels the small of his back digging into the desk. He's never been so scared and horny at the same time in his entire life.

Tyler brings his hands around to fist into the front of Josh's jacket. When one of Josh's hands trails down to meet his, Josh pulls back. Tyler whines, forgetting for a second that they're in a haunted asylum he took a day off of work for and paid a pretty penny to tour (even with Josh's employee discount) because all he wants is Josh's mouth back on his.

But Josh is running a finger over the exposed skin of Tyler's thumb, gently. "Should've used that bandaid," he mumbles, brings Tyler's finger to his mouth and sucks tenderly on the tip.

Tyler lets out a garbled moan. "Can we please get out of here now?"

They get back to the lobby and the girl at the front desk gives Josh a knowing smile.

"Telling all your friends about me, huh?" Tyler mocks, and Josh throws an arm around his shoulders as he holds the front door open with his other hand. "You probably _wanted_ me to have another panic attack just so you'd have an excuse to be alone with me."

"Maybe," Josh says slyly. "I also wanted to scare the shit out of you so I'd have an excuse to kiss you, which is why I had Hayley make that loud banging."

Tyler gives Josh an 'I'm going to murder you' type of look, because if that's even so much as a little bit true-

"Kidding," Josh laughs. "I'm pretty sure that was just a ceiling tile falling or something."

Tyler leads Josh back to his place and Josh fucks him into the mattress.

With cum and sweat still cooling on his skin, he feels the bed shift and then Josh is putting something on his finger.

He raises his hand to hazy eyes, sees that Josh has wrapped the bandaid around his wounded thumb finally.

Josh kisses the underside of his jaw. "The next time I give you a bandaid, just use it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have [Tumblr](http://gunsvorhands.tumblr.com/).

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came to me at work and my carpal tunnel is currently r a g i n g because I started typing as soon as I got home and basically haven't stopped since oops.
> 
> Come to my [Tumblr](http://gunsvorhands.tumblr.com/) and scream about Joshler with me.
> 
> There might be a sequel to this.


End file.
